160 THE LIFE OF SIR JOSEPH BANKS 



Johnson hung fire for so long. Banks had been a pall- 

 bearer at the Doctor's funeral in 1784. Several years were 

 elapsed, and it was not yet decided that Johnson should 

 have a monument in St. Paul's Cathedral. A strong 

 Committee at length took it up, including Sir Joshua 

 Reynolds, Windham, Burke, Boswell, Philip Metcalfe, 

 Sir William Scott, and Sir Joseph Banks ; and the thing 

 was settled. 



Another interesting business was the revival of the 

 Engineers' Society. Originally set on foot in 1771, 

 under the presidency of John Smeaton, it presently 

 suffered from disunion among the members, and ceased 

 to exist after Smeaton's death, in 1792. In the following 

 year it was successfully re-established on a better basis. 1 

 Sir Joseph Banks was one of the new "honorary amateur" 

 members, without whose aid at first it is not to be expected 

 that such societies can flourish. He purchased for the 

 Society all Smeaton's papers and drawings and designs ; 

 and the members agreed to undertake the printing at their 

 own risk, pledging themselves to give the profits to 

 Smeaton's family. 



After the French war had begun, the usual incon- 

 veniences arose from stoppage of communications. This 

 was a sore trouble to the scientific world, whose repre- 

 sentatives on either side of the English Channel had a 

 particular dislike to the interruption of their labours 

 on the ground of international conflict. With such 

 men as Banks, who knew nothing of politics, it was 

 paralyzing. The requests made for the use of his in- 

 fluence in averting the incident troubles were cheerfully 

 responded to. And it may be said that his taking action 

 was generally respected. 



There is one thing that Banks would never do. He 

 would not interfere with politics or politicians. Not 

 only because he was absorbed in his favourite pursuits 



1 Of sixty-five members in 1792, only fifteen were real engineers. 



